Jewish weddings are a joining of two Jewish people in holy matrimony. The ceremony itself has two distinct stages, the first is the sanctification or betrothal and the second is the actual marriage.
One aspect of Jewish weddings that is different from many others is the fact that the betrothal stage actually requires a religious divorce to set aside. A traditional ceremony will take place under a canopy or huppah, symbolizing the building of a new home as the couple become man and wife.

If you are planning your very own Jewish wedding, you have no doubt been considering both the wedding favours and wedding table decorations, to say the least. Wedding favours are a common way to share your special day with your guests and leave them with something meaningful.

Personalized wedding favours such as wine glasses are a great choice, as are silk glass breaking bags; tiny candles and more are all perfectly acceptable. Table decorations can include traditional Jewish items such as fruit designs. The Torah speaks often of fruit as a symbol of plenty and what could be better for the new couple just starting out.

For a bride to be, one of the biggest decisions will be choosing the perfect wedding attire. For some women the process of shopping for wedding dresses is a huge adventure, for others a nightmare fraught with worry and anxiety and lots of “what ifs.”

Most women tend to have some vague mental image of the kind of wedding dress they want to wear on that memorable occasion. Others haven’t got a clue because meeting prince charming, falling in love and getting married wasn’t even a distant memory until it happened. Either way finding the perfect dress from a wide selection of wedding dresses is not a problem if you use the guidelines given below to help you.

Rule number one is to relax, take deep breaths if necessary and remember there’s a huge range to choose from so you are going to need all of your energy to go shopping for wedding dresses.

Give yourself time: never, ever leave the choosing of a wedding dress to the ‘eleventh’ hour – big mistake! You need to start shopping for wedding dresses at least 6 months before the wedding date. So first fix the date and then go shop. Of course if the wedding is rushed and does not give you so much of time, start shopping as soon as you have a firm date in hand.

Budget: True enough when you set out to shop for a wedding dress you will not have a clue about prices. You need to do some research to get an idea about what wedding dresses cost and then work out your budget from there. Your choice to get your dress tailored or buy ready made should also be factored into the price.

Type of dress: the style of the wedding dress will be a huge deciding factor in the eventual cost of the dress. Do you want the whole 9 yards of full length gown with veil and train, Princess Diana style or do you want modern chic that can be backless, strapless, short, sleeveless, etc.

The dress style will also be reflective of the season in which you are planning to get married. Spring, summer and early fall bring to mind short summer dresses while winter will require something more substantial.

Comfort: let’s face it – you are only going to wear the wedding dress one time in your life but you do want to be comfortable on that ultra special day. Lest we forget, you do want to look sensational as well. If you have a dress that keeps tugging upward or threatening to burst at the seams when you laugh you will be mighty uncomfortable.

Choose the material and style that is best suited to the season and venue chosen for the wedding. If you enjoy dancing you want to be comfortable in the dress. Every decision you make when selecting wedding dresses should be based on style, comfort and looking fabulous. However, be practical and don’t sacrifice too much comfort for fashion’s sake.

Planning for your wedding day is one of the best times of your life – go ahead, splash out but most important of all HAVE FUN!

It’s an exciting time! You’re getting married, you have all the arrangements to make, all the rules and etiquette to keep in mind. Don’t forget, though, that it’s also a great time to receive. Those big ticket items can certainly be more financially manageable, if each wedding guest buys one china place setting, for example.

The trick is to consider the number of guests you are inviting with the amount of items you will ask them to consider buying from your wedding registry. If you sign up for a few wedding registries, and you have a lot of things chosen, you might not get enough of the china selection or silverware, for example, to serve dinner guests, so it’s time to be strategic. Think carefully before you join a store’s bridal registry, and consider what you really want in your new home.

The typical bride has a lot of questions; the obvious one being “Where do I register?” At how many stores should I register? How many wedding registries are too many? Do I focus just on real stores, or should I include online stores? Where will I be living in three years? Will I have enough space for all these things? Will the things I am choosing now fit in with my décor as my tastes evolve? Will my husband or wife to be appreciate the choices I am making for our wedding registry?

If you go into a bridal registry with a strategy, you won’t be led around by sales staff, whose only goal (and let’s be honest here), is to increase store sales. They may not have your happiness as their main concern, no matter how nice they may be. For them it may be about a nice commission, or meeting their sales targets for the month. This is not a bad thing. It is merely something you should keep in mind. Yes, they might be genuinely and truly nice, but you need to know your own mind. You need to know what you and your future spouse are really going to put to use in your new home. No one knows your likes and dislikes, your preferences better than you. So, go alone or go with an ally such as your best friend or your mom, and make sure you have done your homework, so you know without a doubt what your wedding registry must haves are.

Are you a bookworm who prefers a good book to a good party?

Then maybe a selection of barware with crystal stemmed wine glasses and various cocktail and highball glasses are not the way to go for you. Think about the kind of life you have lived and whether this lifestyle is something that will drastically change now that you are two, instead of one. It might well be, but most people do not suddenly become wall flowers after being party animals, or vice versa.
Your wedding registry must haves are the things that will truly add value to your lives together. Keep that in mind before you sign up for a bridal registry and you’ll be just fine.